Why Aren’t We Looking At The Pure Racism On Full Display By Keir Starmer?
By Frederick Apeji
Let me start by saying that I don’t like the way that Mrs. Kemi Badenoch generally talks down on Nigeria, the country of origin of her parents. I think, as a politician, she ought to be more shrewd than that because there are Nigerian-British citizens (eligible voters in the UK) who feel genuinely alienated from the Tory Party leader on account of this. Those Nigerians in the UK amount to a low-hanging fruit for her in terms of votes in the next election. So why unnecessarily alienate some of your votes (even if they are few); when you ought to be courting them?
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Now let me comment on the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who yesterday called Mrs. Badenoch “A self-appointed defender of Western Civilization; someone who is desperately searching for relevance.”
Many Nigerians on social media who are already pained by Mrs. Badenoch’s negative vibes towards Nigeria are celebrating that Mr. Starmer has shamed her with his comment, and cut her down to size. Well, I see this quite differently. Starmer is clearly guilty of crass racism here. The undertone of his comment on Badenoch is that the latter isn’t good enough (or British enough) to be a defender of Western Civilization. If Kemi was a White Briton like Keir, would the latter say such a thing about her? Let’s think about this in a sober mood. Don’t allow your beef towards Kemi become a mental stumbling block to your being objective.
For me, it is Keir (not Kemi) who has acted very cheap in this situation. Keir should be man enough to criticize Kemi in a credible and objective way; not resort to this cheap questioning of the lady’s British-ness. Kemi, born in Wimbledon, UK has embraced the country as her home. Why is this a headache for Keir; a headache obviously tucked well in his heart; yet one that came into the open in his attack on Kemi? And on a general note, why should anyone nurse a headache on account of Badenoch (a citizen of the UK) defending and promoting a civilization that she has voluntarily and warmly embraced?
If I chose to be a British citizen today, I’ll embrace it very warmly, passionately and unapologetically. I’ll become a proud defender and promoter of Western Civilization, a civilization ascribed to Europe and North America. Well, let me add that I do not desire or plan to become British. In this one lifetime, and being born a Nigerian, this is more than enough for me.
I just want to say, “Guys, let Mrs. Kemi Badenoch breathe!”
